Being a WordPress Template Developer – Everything You Should Know

With over 76 million users, WordPress is the most popular Content Management System (CMS). Due to this popularity, there are always people who are looking for a WordPress developer to improve the functionality of their site.

Improving WordPress includes writing stand-alone code that interacts with WordPress core code. Even if you make a mistake while writing the code, you won’t have to reinstall the whole WordPress, as the basic codel remains untouched.

You can share your work in the WordPress repository for free or sell it on your website or private trading platforms. In this guide, we will try to answer the question of how to become a WordPress developer and what skills will be required for this.

What Does WordPress Developer Do?

You can change the appearance of the site, expand the functionality, modify the control panel and much more. With deep knowledge in the field of any programming language, you can create a completely new user profile page or even the entire control panel. Your possibilities are limited only by your knowledge and desire to learn new things.

You can create:

Themes (templates) – change the appearance of the site;

Plugins – change or expand the capabilities of WP;

Widgets – to display certain information;

The whole WordPress site – combining themes, plugins and custom code to create a unique site based on the wishes of the client;

New applications that use WordPress as a backend using the REST API;

WordPress Template Development

Templates define the layout and style of a WordPress website. Thus, to become a WordPress template developer, one should master the following skills :

Templates work efficiently on top of WordPress. Information, such as the title and content of a post, is displayed by writing certain PHP functions in HTML.

WordPress Plugin Development

Plugins extend WordPress functionality without changing the underlying code. A plugin is a separate code that interacts with WordPress using the functions provided by the core code.

You can add new functions, delete standard ones, change standard information before it is actually displayed (for example, adding text to the title of a record) and much more.

A WordPress plugin developer should be skilled in:

HTML and CSS

JavaScript

jQuery and AJAX

PHP and SQL

Any extension of WordPress functionality should be done by creating a plugin. The user should be able to disable the plugin at any time and continue using the website without any problems or errors.

Building a WordPress Website

If you are creating a WordPress website specifically for the client, you usually need to create both a theme and plugins. Any functions/features that will not be related to the theme should be moved to a separate plugin so that the client can easily change the theme in the future without losing important functionality. It is very important to see a clear picture of what the client wants from you before agreeing to take on the job.

Conclusion

WordPress frameworks are a useful tool for building your website without working from scratch. Considering the pros and cons, you can choose the best option for developing your ideal site.

Content crafter and chief editor at Scratching Info. Also regular contributor on other major online tech platforms. Security Specialist by day and a writer by night, he does his best to instill his knowledge about tech while delivering inspiring and life changing resources through his writing,